Monday, July 26, 2010

Since I am a complete slacker, I asked a friend to do a post for me. She's done a most excellent job of it...I may never have to blog again!

First off, I want to thank Liz for giving me the opportunity to share these with you! My name is Diane, and I'm addicted to nail polish but I already run two blogs and really don't have time for a third. I do post all my manicures to my Facebook page, so feel free to add me if you like! Just let me know who you are :)

So, onto the amazing polishey goodness! Last week I went out to run some errands, and since I was in the area I couldn't resist a stop at my usual polish supply store which shall remain nameless in order to protect their faux pas. I puttered around, picked up a few old polishes I'd been meaning to get (a few Art Club liners, ChG Frostbite and Heart of Africa) and as I was standing at the counter, I noticed a few strange Orly bottles on a shelf behind them. They were rich, glittery duochromes that looked familar but I couldn't place them. I asked to see them and when she handed me the bottles I checked the names. Space Cadet, Out of This World, and Meet Me Under the Mistletoe. The owner told me they were sample bottles, and they wouldn't be for sale until at least August. After a bit of whining on my part, she offered to sell me those three at her standard Orly prices, $7 a bottle. I was giddy, how could I refuse?

As soon as I got home, I took bottle photos to gloat online. They look just as gorgeous sitting around as the promo photos would have you believe. Please forgive the stray cat hair - I have an overly affectionate marmalade Maine Coon who gets into *everything*, including my polish storage and photo areas.

Without flash

With flash.

I was so eager to try them out, I did a full mani with Space Cadet immediately. Orly describes it as "Green with purple gold FX", but Liz called it "GAAAAHHH!!" and my friend Erin referred to it as "sexy-space-vampire-colored!", both of which I think are very apt descriptors. It's by far the most irridescent and multi-chrome. In indirect artificial light it generally looks like a warm raspberry, but as soon as you step into bright light or sunlight it goes absolutely nuts. It's an explosion of pink, orange, gold, and olive green with a dense gold glitter. This was three coats with a top coat.

I decided it wasn't over the top enough, I added a coat of Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure on top. It added a subtle flakey effect without killing the glory that is Space Cadet. These photos were taken after six full days of wear. And as you can see by the state of my hands in general, I am pretty abusive to them. I work in a toy store and do a fair bit of manual labour, as well as being on the computer or playing video games pretty much constantly in my spare time. The wear on these was pretty fantastic.

After posting photos of Space Cadet, Liz asked me if I'd be willing to swatch and blog about the other two. Always looking for excuses to repaint my nails, I waited until the tipwear on Space Cadet was too bad to deal with and gladly swatched the other two.Next up is the other entry from the Cosmix collection, Out Of This World, which Orly describes as "Purple with pink silver FX". It's definitely purple, and I do see pink, but I'm not so sure about the silver. It's a very pretty colour, but has nowhere near the drama of Space Cadet. I did my best to capture the pink shimmer, but it doesn't translate so well on camera.

And taken in fluorescent indoor lighting in an attempt to capture the pink and silver

The last one I got was from the Holiday collection, Meet Me Under the Mistletoe. I haven't even found descriptions for this one yet, so I'm not sure what kooky promo text Orly's come up with for it. This is a beautiful green, in some lights it's a pure emerald and in some it's a very blue-leaning teal. The shimmer is green and slightly gold. I think it's definitely a great holiday colour, but very much like China Glaze's Emerald Sparkle, it will also be totally appropriate for other times of year. I apologize for the state of my cuticles - I'm still new to swatching and by this point my hands had given up!

The formula for all three of these was about the same. Not too thin, not too thick, and very easy to control. They all started out very thin - the first coat went on watery and barely shimmery and I was worried it would take five or six to develop properly. I was pleasantly surprised when the second coats made them mostly opaque. I used a third coat just to help develop the shimmer, multi-chrome, and overall "oomph", but I think only Space Cadet really required it. Meet Me Under the Mistletoe and Out Of this World could probably have sufficed with two coats, but three just looks better. Removal was a bit of a nuisance, but not as bad as I'd anticipated. OPI's summer glitters (Catch Me In Your Net and Wing It!) were much worse to take off, to give a frame of reference.Overall, these colours are all beautiful and unique, and I'm incredibly glad I got them. I will probably be snagging the rest of the Cosmix collection as soon as it's in stock. However, if I had to choose one out of the three, it would definitely be Space Cadet.Thanks for reading! Now back to your regularly scheduled Lizard!-Diane

Thanks Diane! I'm so happy that you were able to get those on your hands! Thanks for sharing them with those of us who still have to wait. :) Diane also collects and documents her collection of Kimonos at www.moonblossum.net/blog/Check her blog out, the collection is gorgeous1

Friday, July 16, 2010

I've got stuff, really I do...just dealing with some "life stuff" right now and blogging time is not at a premium right now. I'm reading your blogs (not always commenting) and that's keeping me connected with all you wonderful women. I'm cleaning out my closets, so to speak. Doing some great reading and just getting a new head space in place.

Life's been challenging, but I'm getting back to looking at the bright side. I'll post up some stuff this weekend!